Out of the 62 animated films from the Walt Disney Company, only 8 are original ideas, and 2 of those were propaganda films made during WWII to help strengthen our relationship with South America. Everything else was based on either a book, mythology, poems, folk tales, or a piece of classical music. So why do … More What Writers Can Learn from Walt Disney
The Two Lives of Ezekiel Van Cleef is the greatest novel ever written by AI. Why? Because I helped write it. While this sounds arrogant, I think any novel that has 10% of the writing done by a human is better than any novel written 100% by AI. In fact, productivity aside, I would say … More The Best Novel Written by ChatGPT
Writing a novel with ChatGPT is exhausting. I should know, for I just spent the last few months doing so. But that’s for another blog post. Today, I want to talk about how people are using ChatGPT the wrong way. If you ask ChatGPT to write you a novel, it will likely say something along … More How to Use ChatGPT (the Write Way)
There was a man who worked at a factory who made some stuff. Let’s be honest. If this was an opening line, you’d close the book, put it back on the shelf and ask, “How did THAT ever get published?” But what if I told you this line could be fixed by using one simple … More The Best Writing Tip for Beginners
What do carpet beetles, Plato, and the diary of a politician from the 1600s all have in common? You can find all of them on the website Project Gutenberg for free. If you are unfamiliar with the website, buckle up—we are diving into the public domain! Project Gutenberg is a website that offers over 60,000 … More Use Project Gutenberg for Research
An English program can provide a structured environment for learning from experienced professors and receiving feedback on your work. However, an English program can be expensive, and the financial investment might not lead to financial gain. There are other paths to becoming a successful writer that do not involve pursuing an English degree. Many authors … More Do I Need a Degree to Be an Author? Plus, Top Ten Virtual Writing Programs
“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9 HCSB).” As a writer, I find this passage extremely depressing. Not only does it rhyme like a pessimist’s Dr. Seuss, but it also means no matter how hard I … More Don’t be Original.
“Mommy, there’s a biwd in awe house!” “A real bird?” “Mommy, come quick. Daddy lef the doow open. It’s in awe liveen woom.” I leapt out of bed and followed my five-year-old into the living room where a blue Western Scrub-Jay ruffled the window blinds and house plants. “What’s going on?” My eight-year-old, Haven, came … More Relinquished Dreams: Sometimes the Secret to Success is Letting Go by Amy Earls
Story ideas are a lot like babies: no one knows where they come from. If you’re a writer, you know a story idea can hit you when you least expect it. Just as you drift off to sleep, or reach for the shampoo in the shower, or even while someone is talking to you at … More When a Story Becomes an Idol by Kyle Morgan
Do You Ever Experience Discouragement? As a writer, there are many times I have felt discouraged and ready to quit. The author’s journey can feel like a maze of dead ends. Even when I have succeeded at meeting a major milestone, there is always something else that looms ahead, feeling out of reach and impossible. … More He Restores My Soul by Mindy Baker